Richard Rooker has had a lifelong love of water, having been raised on Long Island Sound in Connecticut and now enjoying retirement in Cleveland, where he spends his free time creating paintings that revolve around water scenes.

Then there’s Cedar Grove’s Leslie Paulus, owner of Moon Rocks Jewelry, whose lakeshore home provides plenty of inspiration for her intricately woven bracelets and earrings, which glow with a liquid radiance, catching light and reflecting it back like ripples on water.

“I’m fascinated with water, just drawn to it,” Paulus said. “It’s elemental and hits very close to the bone for me.”

But water is not the only source of creative inspiration the two artists share. Their other connection — Seranya Studios Art Boutique in Plymouth — has become a second home for them, a place to share their talents and reap the benefits of an artistic community.

Seranya, an artist’s cooperative, gallery and studio located at 307 E. Mill St., is the brainchild of Susan Radke, an artist and landscape designer who moved to Plymouth and said “something about it nagged at me — this little town was very artful.”

Radke’s many years in the art world netted her a fistful of business cards, and those contacts came in handy when she decided to open the art co-op last summer. Radke’s number crunching indicated a minimum of 10 artists were needed to make it fly, and she knew 15 people who were interested.

“I prayed a lot, and said, ‘God, if you want me to do this, you have to give me at least 10 people.’ I had 15 yeses, so I signed the lease for the building,” she said.

Right after, the number dropped to nine, but within days, it climbed back to 12, and Seranya was up and running, officially opening its doors last July.

Members now include painters, jewelry and stained-glass artists, purse makers, weavers and metalworkers, all of them bringing work curated by Radke and a team of advisers.

They carefully consider each submission, looking for elements of technique that Radke calls “fine craft.” She explained that while someone might knit “a perfectly lovely scarf” with yarn purchased at a mass retailer, what Seranya looks for is that extra step, such as a scarf knit with hand-spun yarn from sheep raised by the artist.

Inside, the boutique has an eclectic collection of works, with leather purses hanging next to watercolors, sparkling jewelry sitting near handmade goat’s milk soaps and scarves draped from wooden racks.

That setting provides a creative spark for members such as Rooker, who never intended to do anything commercial with his work but became involved in the Plymouth boutique after a friend urged him to check it out.

“The experience just continues to grow, beyond just painting,” Rooker said. “When my wife and I work at the studio, there truly is something peaceful that happens, being surrounded by all that talent and wonders of creativity.”

Workshops add interest to Seranya’s offerings and have included cheese- and soap-making classes, photography lessons and jewelry parties.

“Anyone can request a class, and I’ll put a workshop together,” Radke said. “Whatever the artists earn from teaching the class is theirs.”

Currently, Seranya has 20 members, all of whom pay a modest monthly fee and commit to working there for eight hours each month. That connection includes representation on Seranya’s website and Facebook page, along with membership at the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s never been my goal to make money from the artists,” Radke said. “None of us could afford to do this on our own, so that’s what the co-op is all about.”

For more information, contact the studio at 414-614-7778, or visit www.seranyastudios.com.